Invited on Monday to appear on RMC’s “Rothen s’enflamme” program, Demba Ba (40) gave a glowing but lucid analysis of Paris Saint-Germain. Impressed by the collective transformation brought about by Luis Enrique (55), he praised the total commitment of the players, while warning the Parisian club of the need to redouble their efforts in the face of European competition.
Ba “It means that the team’s top scorer is perhaps the one who runs the most”.
“What impressed me the most, already, was that he took his best or most talented and made him the hardest worker on the team, Ousmane Dembélé. A few years ago, people would tell a player who didn’t want to run that he had to score fifty goals.
Well, today you score fifty goals but you still run, I don’t give a damn… That means that the team’s top scorer is perhaps the one who runs the most and leads (sic) everyone else.
Ba “I feel like there’s not even any structure left, but it’s so well done…”
In fact, I have the impression that the coach has brought all the players around to a common idea and mission. And they’re all in agreement, they’ve all accepted that this idea is the way they’re going to play, they’re going to run, defend and attack all together. After that, I think that the management and staff have already come up with a common idea, whereas before that wasn’t the case.
Secondly, it’s linked to the profile of the players you take on. When you look at the profiles of the players in this team, apart from Pacho and Marquinhos, I can’t say who’s a flanker, I can’t say who’s a winger, I can’t say who’s a striker or a midfielder. I don’t even think there’s a structure anymore, but it’s so well done…
Ba “If PSG want to keep the lead they have, they’re going to have to keep working, and maybe twice as hard”.
If PSG want to keep the lead they’ve got, they’re going to have to keep working, and maybe twice as hard. If they continue to do what they’ve done this year, they’re going to get caught up. Because the others, whether it’s Manchester City, Barça, Bayern Munich or Liverpool, they analyze what Paris is doing. And every day, the analysts and coaches are in front of their computers wondering how to beat them. If Paris stays with what they’re doing, the others will find the solution to counter them.”
Luis Enrique’s imprint on Paris Saint-Germain is indisputable, and marks a profound break with the club’s previous era. Since his arrival in the summer of 2023, the Spanish coach has transformed PSG into a structured, coherent team with an unprecedented collective strength.
Where Paris once seemed limited by the sum of its individual talents, Luis Enrique has imposed a group discipline, a clear playing identity and high standards at all times, both in pressing and in human management. Under his leadership, each player knows his mission and adheres to a common project, which has enabled the club to pass a mental milestone: PSG now knows that anything is possible, including winning on the European stage.
This revolution, built on rigor, resilience and cohesion, has enabled Paris to free itself from its past complexes and display a newfound confidence, visible at major tournaments. Luis Enrique has not only won titles: he has given PSG a soul and the conviction that it can finally make history at the highest level.
